Thermotherapy
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Thermotherapy, or therapy by induced localised hyperthermia, may be used as a cancer treatment to kill or weaken tumor cells, with negligible effects on healthy cells. Tumor cells, with a disorganized and compact vascular structure, have difficulty dissipating heat. Hyperthermia may therefore cause cancerous cells to undergo apoptosis in direct response to applied heat, while healthy cells can more easily maintain a normal temperature. Even if the cancerous cells do not die outright, they may become more susceptible to ionizing radiation treatments or to certain chemotherapies, allowing such therapy to be given in smaller doses. A far infrared sauna is an excellent modality to promote hyperthermia.
Thermotherapy may also be used in vine propagation to get rid of viroids (particles smaller than viruses) which may affect the new vine.
Thermotherapy should not be confused with fever therapy using Coley's Toxins. In fact, they are quite different.
External links
- Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy of the Prostate (TUMT) at eMedicine
- Thermotherapy for treating rheumatoid arthritis, from Cochrane Library
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Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
